Sky Blog
There is an increasing worldwide focus on trying to end the problem of “too big to fail” (“TBTF”). Regulators are concerned that systemically important financial firms might engage in excessive risk-taking because they would profit from a success and be …
On October 19, 2016, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“the Board”), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“the OCC”), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“the FDIC”, and the three agencies collectively, “the Agencies”) …
High-frequency quoting and trading (HFQ) has become a global phenomenon. It’s based on reducing the lag time – known as latency – between order submission and execution or cancellation so that order outcome is reported almost instantaneously. A number of …
M&A activity in September 2016 rebounded across most metrics as compared to August 2016, both in the U.S. and globally. In the U.S., total deal volume increased by 18.9% to $129.08 billion and average deal value increased by 24.7% to …
In the controversial practice of appraisal arbitrage, activist investors buy shares of a corporation to be acquired by merger so as to assert appraisal rights challenging the merger price – which may already have been approved by the target’s stockholders. …
In In re Books-A-Million, Inc. Stockholders Litigation, the Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed the fiduciary duty claims of former minority stockholders following a going-private, squeeze-out merger because the transaction satisfied the framework to invoke business judgment review as approved …
In a September 22, 2016, post on this blog, available here, Professor Wulf Kaal asked in the title to his piece, “What Happens When Technology Is Faster Than the Law?” He noted that while “innovation driven by science and …
Over the past five years the business models in the Entertainment, Media and Communications (EMC) sector have been upended, paving the way for new EMC players to enter the industry that were traditionally technology companies.
Not too long ago, the …
The latest Wells Fargo bank scandal has rekindled debates about breaking up banks that are too big to fail, too big to manage or too big to comply.
Echoing the debate between Louis Brandeis and Teddy Roosevelt in the Progressive …
The New York State Department of Financial Services (the “Department”) issued a guidance memorandum on October 11[1] requiring regulated New York-chartered banking institutions to align their incentive compensation practices with the general principles laid out in the Interagency Guidance …
What is the value of an asset? That is the ultimate financial question, the equivalent of Hamlet’s “To be or not to be.” Of course, we all “know” the answer: the present value of its future cash flows. Push an …
As the end of their fiscal years approached on September 30, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a number of resolutions, underscoring their pronouncements that “vigorous enforcement”[1] of violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices …
The Great Recession of 2008 had a devastating effect on the world economy. Millions of jobs were lost, trillions in financial assets evaporated, and millions of people lost their homes. Great companies such as Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and many …
Over the summer, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) concluded the comment period on its reproposed single counterparty credit limits (SCCL) rule issued in March 2016.[1] SCCL is intended to reduce systemic risk by limiting a banking organization’s credit exposure …
A well-functioning independent board of directors is a pillar of effective corporate governance. However, establishing and maintaining a truly functioning board remains a challenge for many companies. In response to apparent breakdowns in corporate oversight, policymakers have taken steps to …
On October 11, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) is “unconstitutionally structured” because its authority is vested in a single appointee who can be …
Is there a simpler – and better – way to predict a recession? The answer is yes, and no, we are not astrologists – though one would not necessarily be wrong to use the position of stars and planets for …
Shareholder activism is common in Western financial markets, where it is used to try to create shareholder value. Numerous studies on activism have found mixed results: while some validate the value creation claim and find activism beneficial, others conclude activism …
On September 23, U.S. District Judge William Pauley refused to approve a settlement between the CFTC and Deutsche Bank covering the bank’s failure to report swaps properly. Instead of rubber-stamping the settlement, the judge asked the parties for additional briefing. …
In this update, we review a number of recent regulatory developments that may impact firms engaged in the industry of new and innovative financial technology (“FinTech”). First, we discuss the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (“FDIC”) new guidance on examining third-party …